CWD Highlights - April to June 2019

Christian Writers Downunder is a diverse group of writers, editors, bloggers, illustrators. As a group we support each other through our facebook page and blog.

Today's blog will highlight some of the achievements of our members from April to June 2019

Awards:

Ruth Bonetti

Congratulations to Omega to Ruth Bonetti. 

Ruth was presented with the 2019 Queensland Family History Book Award by the Queensland Family History Society for her second biography/memoir/family history Midnight Sun to Southern Cross. It was a great night and well deserved award.

(If you have a published family history, you could consider entering for this Award for 2020 – entries close on 30 November.)

Submissions & Acceptances:

Elizabeth Klein

Elizabeth Klein's short story "Hidden" was accepted for inclusion in the anthology Short Tales 5 by Storm Cloud Publication on 16th April.  She is also running a writing workshop on 15th June.

New Release & Cover Reveals:

David Rawlings

David Rawlings' The Baggage Handler (released in March 2019 - see previous highlights) is being translated into Dutch (late 2019) - with the Dutch cover shown below.

Title: The Baggage Handler
Publication Date: March 5
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Blurb:

When three people take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, their lives change forever.

A hothead businessman coming to the city for a showdown meeting to save his job.

 A mother of three hoping to survive the days at her sister's house before her niece’s wedding.

 And a young artist pursuing his father’s dream so he can keep his own alive.

When David, Gillian, and Michael each take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, the airline directs them to retrieve their bags at a mysterious facility in a deserted part of the city. There they meet the enigmatic Baggage Handler, who shows them there is more in their baggage than what they have packed, and carrying it with them is slowing them down in ways they can’t imagine. And they must deal with it before they can leave.

In this modern-day parable about the burdens that weigh us down, David Rawlings issues an inspiring invitation to lighten the load.

Available HERE

Bio: David Rawlings is a based in South Australia, with a 25-year corporate writing career behind him and stories that look deeper into life in front of him.

Ruth Amos' Challenge Accepted

In January 2019, author R. J. Amos challenged herself to write a short story every day for thirty days. Using prompts found online, R. J. pushed her creative powers to the limit, writing a full story with a beginning, middle, and end, every day.

She presents a collection of weird and wide-ranging, fun and fantastic stories. Also included are the story prompts that R. J. used so that you too can stretch your imagination.

A challenge for you, should you choose to accept it. Available HERE 

Helen Brown

Helen Brown has published her latest inspirational book Still More Water into Wine.

"Sometimes the encourager needs to be encouraged. People in ministry, regardless of its type, give of themselves. There comes a time, however, when they need to be refreshed, for them to continue to give. "

Helen gave an interview last year HERE.  Her book is available HERE

Jeanette O'Hagan

Caverns of the Deep - Jeanette O'Hagan has released Caverns of the Deep, the fifth and final book in the Under the Mountain series (which started with Heart of the Mountain).

Title: Caverns of the Deep
Publication: 17 June 2019
Publisher: By the Light Books

Blurb:

Seven Gates, locked and warded, stand between life and starvation.

As belts are tightened notch by notch, Watcher Retza and Lady Zara seek to find the seal and open the Gate.

Meanwhile, Delvina, shapeshifter Zadeki and Danel race to return to the Caverns in time to help their friends.

Danger and betrayal stalk the tunnels and shadows grow darker in the deep caverns beneath the mountain. Will Zadeki, Zara and the twins (Retza and Delvina) find a way to save the Glittering Realms and secure a better future?

Join Delvina, Retza, Zara and their friends on their quest to save the Glittering Realm under the mountain.

Available HERE

And the series starts HERE

As part of the Caverns launch, you can win a e-copy of Caverns of the Deep (or one of the earlier books) on the ICFW blogsite. Open up until 29 June 2019 HERE

Wolf Scout in Tale of Magic and Destiny - Also, Jeanette's story Wolf Scout is included in the latest Inklings Press anthology - Tales of Magic and Destiny, currently available on pre-order for a early July release.

Title: Tales of Magic and Destiny

Publication: July 2019
Publisther: Inklings Press

Blurb:

Inklings Press has released it's latest Anthology - Tales of Magic and Destiny. including Jeanette O'Hagan's story Wolf Scout.

Take a trip into worlds of fantasy - where magic and destinies collide.

Twelve stories. Twelve authors. Twelve worlds of fantasy.

The adventure begins here mybook.to/MagicDestiny.

Events & Opportunities

Toowoomba Omega Chapter Workshop - Avoiding Literary Speed bumps. 

The Toowoomba Omega Chapter put on a informative and practical workshop on Avoiding Literary Speed bumps by Nola Passmore. at the Canvas Coworking space on 27 April. 

Topic: ‘How to Avoid Literary Speedbumps’ with Nola Passmore

A literary speed bump is anything that disrupts the flow of your writing and makes your reader go, 'Huh?' It could be an unfamiliar word, a convoluted sentence, an ambiguous pronoun, an unintentional tongue-twister, to name a few. In this workshop, writer and editor Nola Passmore will give plenty of tips and hands-on exercises to help you edit out those glitches that stop readers having a smooth ride through your prose. In will be fun and informative.

The event was well attended and much appreciated.

Toowoomba Omega Writers Retreat

Participants enjoyed another inspiring weekend at the Toowoomba Omega Writers Retreat at the James Byrne Centre near Highfields June 7-9. 

A firelight talk with Jo-Anne Berthelsen on Friday night, Jo-Anne's presentation on Writing Fiction for Non-Fiction Writers (and vice versa), and the Panel of Anne Hamilton, Ruth Bonetti and Jeanette O'Hagan on Indie Publishing were all much appreciated. Jessica Kate did an impromptu fireside chat reprising her workshop on How to Break into the American Market.  And there was plenty of time for relaxing, writing and networking over the weekend. A worship service with prayer for each other ended what was another great program from the Toowoomba Omega Chapter. A big thank you to Nola Passmore, Mazzy Adams, Adele Jones, Pamela Heemskerk, Kirsten Hart, Janelle Moore & Ro. 

Omega Writers Conference

Registrations are now open for the Omega Writers Conference Oct 11-13, Edward Rice Centre, Mulgoa (near Sydney). Steve Laube - an American Christian Literary Agent, a veteran of the bookselling industry with nearly 40 years of experience - is the keynote speaker.

If you've always wanted to go but have never been able to afford it - check out the sponsorships on offer.

Find out more HERE

Wombat Books Conference

CWD member Penny Reeve will be one of the speakers along with other Wombat Children's authors & featured author Kate Forsyth at the Wombat Books Conference (26-27 September 2019). Find out more HERE

Other News:

• Birdcatcher Books Adventure Stories for Children Competition closes soon on 30 June, 2019 - find out more HERE
• Entries for Stories of Life are still open until 31 July 2019.  You can find more about it HERE

Congratulations to all our members for your milestones and achievements.

What God Wants

by Lynne Stringer

My latest novel, Once Confronted, was launched on 1^st October 2016, and in the lead-up to its arrival, I was running around madly, trying to make sure everything was in place. I managed to remember everything and both the online and physical book launches went off without a hitch.

Unfortunately, this proved a draining experience, especially given the personal nature of the story of Once Confronted, and the fact that I put my protagonist, Madison Craig, through an armed robbery, a scenario which I have also experienced. This meant that any vestige of energy I had left fled the moment the book launch was over. This was a bit of a problem because, as we know, the launch is only the beginning. The hard work goes on long after that.

It’s been difficult to find the energy I needed to keep going. However, one thing has driven me—the firm belief that God wants this book out there. There’s no doubt in my mind that God gave it to me for a reason.

Why else has He spent my whole life preparing me to be a writer? It was not my career of choice. Writing was something I did for fun when I was younger. I knew there was no point trying to make any money out of it. My father’s a writer too. I could see from his experience that it was not the path to a quick fortune.

Yet God trained me in every aspect I needed to become an Indie writer. He gave me jobs in two different bookstores so I learned how to sell books, then took me to the Baptist Union of Queensland, where I started writing small articles for The Queensland Baptist newspaper (The QB) to help out the editor. Some of the other staff encouraged me to do a journalism course, which I wasn’t too enthusiastic about. But I did it, and shortly after, the editor of The QB resigned. Who took his place?

Me.

I was the editor and chief journalist for The QB for seven years. Once I left that role, I started to write fiction again. I had already written the novel that was to become Once Confronted but other things had crowded it out, so it simply remained a file on a computer program.

After I wrote my first published novel, The Heir (the first book in the Verindon trilogy) in 2010 and Rochelle Manners of Wombat Books agreed to publish it, I thought of Once Confronted again. By this time, I was editing both fiction and non-fiction for Rochelle.

Once my trilogy was published, Rochelle asked me if I had an idea for a contemporary book.  Once Confronted, which had been waiting in the wings since 1998, immediately came to mind.

Perhaps it’s not this book specifically that God has plans for. But I’ve always felt that this one is special because of the prominent theme of forgiveness, as Madison has to decide whether or not she can forgive the men who hurt her. While I have no idea who my attacker is, if he ever seeks me out, desperate for forgiveness, I have to decide if I can offer it to him.

Perhaps this is why God wants it out there so badly. It’s a public statement of not only what I think it is a good ideal but a challenge to myself to go beyond what I might think I’m capable of. I hope it will challenge others in this way too.

Lynne Stringer has been passionate about writing all her life. She was the editor of The QB for seven years, and currently works as a professional editor and proofreader.
Lynne is the author of the Verindon trilogy, a YA science fiction romance. Her latest book, Once Confronted, is a contemporary drama set that was released in October 2016.

For more information on Lynne, her books and her writing, visit her website: www.lynnestringer.com